5 March 2017
The Plymouth Green Party is delighted to announce the start of a major campaign for a food waste recycling system in Plymouth. This is a scheme that has already been rolled out in many cities across the UK including Cardiff, Dundee and Glasgow.
The way in which food waste is disposed of in Plymouth is appalling. Rather than going back into the earth as either compost or natural fertiliser, the waste is burned in the incinerator, which contributes to the terrible and growing pollution in our city.
The Transition Plymouth group, as part of the Food Waste Partnership of which the Plymouth Green Party are members, have done sterling work in putting the case forward to the council for food waste recycling in Plymouth. Yet the Tories, Labour and UKIP have ignored them. The Green Party feels that this is a critically important issue for Plymouth.
Food waste recycling is already known to be four times cheaper as a method of waste collection than incineration. Considering that the council has decided to spend £35 million alone on inner-city roadworks, the least they could do is commit a fiftieth of this cost to setting up a program that will protect Plymouth’s environment and save money.
The council are currently slashing Plymouth’s bin collections from weekly to fortnightly- whilst this is clearly wrong and will result in overflowing, we have a better solution than just ‘more of the same’. We will phase in natural fertiliser over artificial ones, reduce pollution levels and save money all at the same time. What more could you want?
We aim to persuade the council to bring in a food waste program in Plymouth and question them as to the reasons why they are so reluctant to do so when it will be cheaper, easier and better for our local environment. We also would like more transparency from the council about why they have been so resistant to food waste collection so far- especially at a time where they are changing the bin collections generally.
To this end, we have put in a Freedom of Information request to Plymouth City Council asking them some questions about the role the incinerator has to play in the decision-making process. To find out more, click here. We will continue to make the case for a food waste collection system and make it a major commitment to be seen from future Green councillors and campaigners within the city. This campaign will be updated regularly and make up a major focal point of our campaigns in the year ahead.
The Plymouth Green Party calls upon Plymouth City Council to #StopWastingOurWaste of the tonnes upon tonnes of food that gets incinerated each year. Better for our pockets, better for our planet.
Want to help get a Food Waste Recycling system in Plymouth? Feel passionately about what the Green Party are doing? Why not join us?
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